I have a spare that has always been laying in the bed and I now need to mount it underneath where it is supposed to go cause I need the space for hauling. I am missing whatever holds it in place and don't have any junkyards close to me. Any good suggestions on mounting it underneath? I see only 1 fishhood bolt hanging down there and that's it. I was thinking of using some steel cable (the plastic coated kind and stringing it up with a brass masterlock (won't rust?) holding it all together. Should I put it in a cover or something to protect if from rot?

 

Do you see a gear hooked to the "fish Hook" Had a ranger that geared down a line to mount the spare. Mine is missing to but mine looks like a arm came down to a latch.

 

Nope, I just have the fish hook hanging there, no gears.

 

dbuck, I hear your plight about not having a junkyard close by. But you might think about taking a trip to a major city that has a number of junkyards. Kinda make a day out of it. You should be able to find a complete factory sparetire set up pretty easy. Most trucks are wrecked up front. Around here, the junkyards don't charge much for them. Plus you'll have the peace of mind of using a factory designed setup. Would hate to see a sparetire falling off and having someone behind you hit it. Just my 2 cents. Charles

 

Look for another "fishhook" on the opposite side, near the rear axle. If it's not there, you'll need it too. Check out the one you have, they often rust and seize up. They screw into "clip nuts" which you might also need. I had to cut mine off with a torch they were so bad (Indiana truck). I found some good parts in the junkyard and coated the threads with grease to ward off rust.
Next you need the "crossbar" that actually holds the tire up. Don't get one from a F250 or F350 unless that's what you need, they are shaped a bit differently because the heavy duty trucks use larger wheels.
One last thing is another eyebolt and big washer thing that actually secures the center of the wheel to the crossbar. This is often lost or discarded the first time the spare is used.
On my Indiana truck I was not initially aware of the bigger crossbars or the center securing bolt. The result was that my spare disappeared on the road somewhere. Never heard a thing until I hit a bump and wondered what was jangling around back there. Got the correct parts and no problems since.
If you want to lock your spare, just stick a padlock on the rear eyebolt. Make sure your lock is VERY weatherproofed though.

 

I had the crossbar rust off and drop my tire. I bought a brand new one from the dealership after Napa/Carquest didn't have them and all the junkyards around here said they were all rusted off (NY state). It was only $20.oo.

My ball end bolt looked pretty good (driver's side) but the eyehook one was shot. I split the top nuts on both off with a 3" air cutoff tool and knocked them off with an air chisel. I wasn't too keen on using a torch around fuel/brake lines and the fuel tank unless I had to. I went and got some 9/16 threaded rod and nuts and washers, made up some new clip nuts with nuts, washer and some 1/8" flat steel. I welded a nut and heavy washer onto a piece of threaded rod and another nut to the end of it so I could turn it, to replace the eye hook bolt. I used two nuts and washers to secure another piece of threaded rod to the crossbar to hold the wheel and welded those to the rod. Then I took a 1" (i.d.) washer, cut it in half, and welded the two pieces to a nut to use as a wingnut. I welded a big washer to the bottom of it. That threads onto the rod secured to the crossbar to hold the spare to it. Just make sure the rod and wingnut aren't too long and will hit the fuel tank if you have one there. The ball head bolt screws through the crossbar and into the clip nut on the frame. The other bolt threads up into the other clip nut a little, the crossbar latches over it, and then that bolt threads up further into the clip nut to tighten the whole thing up against the fuel tank.